Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential economic impact of a suspension of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
It is for the Office for Budget Responsibility to provide economic and fiscal forecasting.
The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement ensures that the UK has control of our laws, borders, money and fisheries, ending any role for the European Court.
The UK Government’s overriding priority has been, and continues to be, preserving peace and stability in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish details of (a) the spending committed to the Fresh Start Agreement initiative for education in Northern Ireland and (b) associated projects, including (i) start date, (ii) funds committed and (iii) estimated date for completion.
Answered by Simon Clarke
As part of the ‘Fresh Start’ agreement to facilitate the implementation of the Stormont House Agreement, the UK government committed up to £500 million capital funding to support shared and integrated education.
The UK government is working closely with the Northern Ireland Executive to agree projects and, up to 2021-22, has provided £92 million.
Further detail of funding provided to the Northern Ireland Executive for the ‘Fresh Start’ agreement can be found in the Block Grant Transparency, published online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/block-grant-transparency-december-2021
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the European Commission on the application of changes to VAT for the installation of energy saving materials in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The Government has been clear that a constructive solution must be found that ensures the whole of the UK can benefit from the energy saving materials reforms and that Northern Ireland remains an integral part of the UK market.
The Government will engage with the European Commission on this matter as soon as possible, within wider discussions regarding the Northern Ireland Protocol.
In the interim, the Northern Ireland Executive will receive a Barnett share of the value of this relief.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the number of EU member states that are currently enabling reduced VAT treatment of the installation of energy saving materials.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
At Spring Statement 2022, the Chancellor announced that the VAT relief for the installation of energy saving materials (ESMs) in residential accommodation would be expanded in Great Britain from 1 April 2022. The changes have removed complex eligibility conditions, reinstated wind and water turbines as qualifying materials, and reduced the rate of VAT to zero per cent for the next 5 years.
EU rules restrict the VAT reliefs which can be introduced in EU Member States. As such, no Member State can currently apply a new VAT zero rate or reduced rate to the installation of ESMs which is equivalent to that being introduced in Great Britain.
Under the EU VAT Rates Proposal officially adopted at ECOFIN on Tuesday 5 April 2022, and due to be introduced across the EU from 1 January 2025, the list of items on which Member States can apply reduced rates and zero rates will be expanded. However, this expanded list only covers the supply and installation of solar panels and does not include other key items in the UK’s ESM measure, such as insulation or wind and water turbines.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether there is any Barnett Consequential for Northern Ireland from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund; and how much that allocation will be.
Answered by Simon Clarke
Spending Review 2021 allocated £800m for the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, as part of the UK government’s 10-year £3.8 billion Manifesto commitment to decarbonise the social housing building stock in England.
At spending reviews, the Barnett formula is applied to changes in each UK government department’s DEL budget with the Barnett consequentials that arise then added to the devolved administrations’ baseline block grants.
Because the Barnett formula is not applied to changes in funding for all the individual programmes within a UK government department’s DEL budget, the Barnett consequentials associated with these individual programmes cannot be identified.
Spending Review 2021 set the largest annual block grants, in real terms, of any spending review settlement since the devolution Acts in 1998 and the Northern Ireland Executive is receiving an average of £1.6 billion per year through the Barnett formula on top of its £13.4 billion annual baseline.
It is for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their funding in devolved areas, including environmental planning and decarbonisation.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Financial Conduct Authority in tackling financial inclusion.
Answered by John Glen
The Government works closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to ensure that people, regardless of their background or income, have access to useful and affordable financial products and services.
The FCA’s current and ongoing initiatives to improve financial inclusion - which include work on access to cash, access to credit and vulnerable consumers - demonstrate that it can already effectively support the Government’s financial inclusion agenda
The Government has also legislated to require the FCA to consult on the introduction of a duty of care owed by firms to consumers through the Financial Services Act 2021. The FCA has since consulted on the introduction of a new ‘Consumer Duty’, which seeks to set higher and clearer expectations for the standard of care firms should provide to consumers.